updated 04:45 pm EDT, Fri April 20, 2012

TeliaSonera to intro VoIP call charges in Europe

Nordic mobile operator TeliaSonera will begin charging its Spanish customers for VoIP services on top of the regular data charges, ArcticStartupreported. It will begin doing so within a month before expanding the practice to Sweden sometime this summer. The carrier's CEO, Lars Nyberg, stated early on this will be the case, so it shouldn't come as a surprise.

Spanish users on the company's Yoigo-branded service will get the choice of a plan with VoIP access or one without. This includes access to service like Skype and other chat services that rely on data rather than voice networks. The Telia network will offer the same this summer in Sweden, and the VoIP service will be available on its own. Current subscriptions will not be affected by the change, as it will only apply to new plans.

Nyberg defends the move, saying that if all of its subscribers switched to VoIP calls and not get charged for it, the company would lose nearly 70 percent of its revenue.

The policy is likely to anger net neutrality advocates and will no doubt fall under the scrutiny of the European Commission. [viaTheNextWeb, Image courtesy of Jon Fingas]